To provide a liquid material drying method whereby powder of a desired water content can be obtained directly by means of a single drying apparatus. A liquid material drying method whereby a large amount of medium particles (6) are placed on a dispersion plate (9) inside a drying vessel (4), the medium particles (6) are fluidized by means of heated gas blown up through said dispersion plate (9), and supplied liquid material (M) is dried by being caused to adhere to the surfaces of the medium particles (6), the solid component contained in the liquid material being collected continuously in the form of powder, wherein a whirling upward airflow caused by the heated gas is formed, at the least, in the region of the drying vessel (4) above the fluidized layer of medium particles (6), the solid component in the liquid material having detached from the surfaces of the aforementioned medium particles being caused to disperse, float and dry further in this whirling upward airflow.